Pete Hornberger

Infobox character


caption=Pete Hornberger
name = "Pete Hornberger"
first = "Pilot"
gender = Male
age = 30s
occupation = Producer on "TGS"
spouse = Paula Hornberger
children = Kyle Hornberger
Kaleb Hornberger
Robert Hornberger
Jack Hornberger
portrayer = Scott Adsit
creator = Tina Fey

Peter "Pete" Hornberger is a fictional character played by Scott Adsit on the American television series "30 Rock".

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Role on the show

Pete is a producer for the fictional television show "TGS with Tracy Jordan". He works closely with head writer Liz Lemon, who, in "Blind Date", he mentions that he has known for ten years. In the pilot episode, new network executive Jack Donaghy fired Pete without even consulting Liz, but she managed to convince him to hire Pete back. Like Liz and much of the show's staff, Pete was frustrated when Jack made them hire unpredictable actor Tracy Jordan as the show's new star.

Liz often confides in Pete and, at times, he seems to be the only competent person that she works with and the one who will tell it to her straight when it comes to managing her personal life. Much like Liz, Pete generally plays straight man to the other characters, especially to Liz when she is temporarily pushed over the edge. Therefore, his role on the show is often limited, though he was prominently featured in the "B story" of the episode "Black Tie." Most often, he is utilized as a vehicle for receiving exposition in place of the audience. Pete has occasionally displayed a witty sense of humor, as when he called Liz "Captain Needa" in "Jack the Writer." In "The Aftermath", Liz told Tracy that Pete thinks everyone is an idiot, "especially Frank, who... is an idiot."

Prior to his work on "TGS", Pete was a skilled archer qualified to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, but did not get to go when President Carter decided to boycott the Moscow games. Later in the episode, he helps Kenneth get his application to the Summer Olympics by stalling a rival page (In this case, he shoots the rival page in the leg with archery equipment) so Kenneth can get HIS application in.

Family life

Pete is married and he has at least three sons. Aside from a brief scene in the pilot where Pete appears at home with one of his sons, all the members of his family were unseen characters until the episode "Greenzo". In one episode, Pete reveals that he is afraid of his son Kyle, who is apparently very strong and, in "Black Tie," he spoke with his son Kaleb over the telephone, pretending to be Elmo, in order to encourage his son to "aim your pee-pee at the potty." In "Greenzo", Liz mentions he has three sons named Robert and Jack, and an unnamed one referred to as "that creepy little one who's always rubbing himself on the carpet".

His wife Paula (played by "SNL" writer Paula Pell) is implied to have a rather overbearing personality and Pete often goes to great lengths to make her happy, as in "Up All Night" when he realized that it was Valentine's Day, which also happens to be his wife's birthday. Pete also passed when one of Tracy's entourage expressed interest in him during that episode, showing that he may not always be happy in his marriage but he remains faithful. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Pete stated that his wife wishes he was not bald and, in "Black Tie," Pete mentions that they were married in a botanical garden. He lied to his wife about getting a vasectomy, but, as of "The Fighting Irish," she's getting suspicious. Therefore, Pete has asked Liz for the keys to her apartment for "my own safety." He is still living with Liz as of "Greenzo." However, Liz finds out that Pete and Paula are having an "affair" where they sneak around and use her apartment for trysts that include silk scarves and Pop-Tarts; Pete tells her that he and his wife got pregnant almost immediately after they began dating and have never had an exciting romantic/sexual life because of that, so they have found this way to spark their marriage.

In the episode "Jack the Writer," Pete did not appear to be particularly faithful since he took umbrage when Liz tried to tell the show's nubile receptionist, Cerie Xerox, to dress more professionally. He told Liz that, as a bald middle-aged man, he had little joy in his life and asked that he be allowed to have "this one thing." When she argued that this was inappropriate, Pete became very agitated and screamed that Liz was inappropriate with her big stupid face. However, in "Black Tie," he refused to cheat on his wife, despite Tracy's encouragement. In "Blind Date," he bet his wedding ring in a poker tournament and lost it, though Kenneth later returned it to him.